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How do floating tones affect pronunciation in Niger-Congo languages?
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Niger-Congo languages
Map showing the branches and distribution of the Niger-Congo languages.
In many Niger-Congo languages, tonal patterns are frequently complicated by the presence of "floating tones."1
These tones occur when a syllable is deleted or a vowel is elided, yet the tone originally carried by that syllable is retained. These floating tones then interact with the tones of preceding or succeeding syllables, resulting in tonal perturbations that affect the overall pronunciation of words and phrases.1